Yes it was me who started the Mike McGurn post. This is a new one as the title might lead to a more complete discussion.
It seems this discussion is almost out of bounds and each individual's or teams' programs are closed shops.
Also it appears that young GAA players suffer from once off talent evaluation, i.e. he'll (age 14-18) never make it, when each other sport has programs for constant development to pick up on and coach those who have just been off the radar until a particular time in their lives or develop more slowly than others.

So, what are the best techniques out there to develop/continue optimum strength and fitness for the aspiring county star or the late developer? This should mostly include exercises and weights program discussion but also age i.e. when should a young player start strength and speed training?

wicklu (Wicklow) - Posts: 331 - 29/11/2010 14:17:32    824493

you can't beat a bit of natural strength but alas, picking spuds and tossing hay has now been replaced with squat thrusts and kettle bells

wishfulthinkin (Cavan) - Posts: 1736 - 29/11/2010 14:45:43    824526

For pure strength moves that give you a lot of bang for your buck I would go with purely compound moves. Front Squat, Dead-lift, Shoulder Press, Chin up, Bench Press.

FitnessGuru (Cavan) - Posts: 20 - 30/11/2010 13:35:14    825124

core work is also very important as been able to give and recover from a belt is important

minor_champs_09 (Carlow) - Posts: 30 - 30/11/2010 15:56:32    825274

wide grip chin ups are a fantastic exercise and very good for building strength

laser (Galway) - Posts: 230 - 30/11/2010 16:17:46    825292

Core strength is the most important of the whole lot, having a strong core means better balance, and a better ability to take and give a hit.

Sergeant_Slash (Cavan) - Posts: 2182 - 30/11/2010 16:24:03    825302

Sergeant_Slash is absolutely right, the muscles in the middle of your body (the core) are grand central station, the place where all lines eventually lead. Core strength is paramount.

FitnessGuru (Cavan) - Posts: 20 - 01/12/2010 11:21:41    825690

When should a young player start speed and strength training?

The younger you start the better especially for speed. While there can be big increases in ones strength in any age. Improvements in speed are minimal as we get older. Therefore speed training is vital at a young age as if you are slow when you are young it is likely you will be slow when you are older. Hurdles and ladders are widely used for speed training as they promote quick feet and improve running technique. However I believe that your starting position and your ability to change direction are more important than speed to a degree.

Regards strength, IMO your legs are the area of your body that give you most of your strength. Core training is over emphasised and poorly understood. You could get a big bodybuilder who has really poor core strength but you are never going to push him off the ball.

IMO key exercises are deadlift and squats as they promote co-ordination between the major muscle groups of the legs. Try to stay away from machine exercises but that is only my opinon.

Hoscarano (Laois) - Posts: 56 - 01/12/2010 12:48:11    825750

i agree with ya hoscarano core strenght is talked about far too much. leg exercises are usually given very little time compared to upper body. i bet around 99% of gaelic players can not do a full PROPER squat.

laser (Galway) - Posts: 230 - 01/12/2010 15:24:07    825854

Personally I agree with the above posts regarding compound lifts and core work but I feel alot of gaa players including meself in the past have left out key components such as flexibility... Resistance training is great for building power but can have a hindering effect on an athletes flexibility, good flexibility is very important in injury prevention...

On the debate about the importance on leg weights, i feel single leg varations are crucial, realistically a gaa player or any other field team athlete places alotta pressure on only 1 leg at a time, ie, kicking..

single leg variations is also away of identifying any mucular imbalances in dominant legs vs. non-dominant legs, again in the terms of injury prevention..

gaanewboy (Donegal) - Posts: 2 - 01/12/2010 16:14:55    825892

The most comprensive website i have seen lately in decribing the importance of and proper implementation of tests and exercises is www.totalgaacoach.com. It decribes all that we are talking about and decribes the benifits of doing these exercises correctly and efficently. i think the site is currently under construction but has good detail on it both for gym and pitch training - worth a look

Ballagh10 (Mayo) - Posts: 3 - 06/12/2010 12:28:00    828231

I would disagree with ya wicklu on GAA players having a very short window to impress in comparison to other sports. Because of it's amateur nature there is always room for a late developer to progress on to a county panel even if they weren't a minor star by impreesing at club or college level. In pro sports like rugby players are fast tracked and put on elite programmes early on by their provinces or snapped up by the big Rugby schools, the late developer might get to captain his J1 side or maybe make the AIL or something (there are exceptions currently but these will disappear as the sport adapts to the Professional era). Anyone who has an interest in talent development should read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. Basically a disproportianate amount of elite athletes have birth dates within 3 months of their sports underage cut-off dates because they get picked for elite squads at 9 or 10 because of their physical advantage.

Somebody mentioned that core work is poorly understood. I would agree. Much of core work as I understand it is not done at high intensity and is not really about developing muscles but actually learning how to fire them in the first place. In terms of injury prevention, flexability is important but not the be all and end all in terms of avoiding injury. Balance is hugely important and can be screened and developed using a 3 point reach test.

roundball (Tipperary) - Posts: 2514 - 06/12/2010 18:12:37    828487

I have to admit it, players nowadays are much fitter and stronger than in the past!

Bigapple (Kerry) - Posts: 495 - 20/12/2010 16:24:13    835801

laser
County: Galway
Posts: 155

825292 wide grip chin ups are a fantastic exercise and very good for building strength

These are good alrite but impossible to start with. You need to do a lot of other work before considering taking these on!!

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 20/12/2010 16:43:56    835825